When the pears are green

"Detective Chen, if you have anything to say, please come into my house and talk." Jiang Qingzhou hurriedly invited the somewhat haggard Chen Yuan to come in.

Chen Yuan had been walking for a long time and his mouth was already dry. He did not bother to be polite with Jiang Qingzhou and followed Jiang Qingzhou into the Jiang family's yard.

Without waiting for Jiang Qingzhou's instructions, Song Li went to the kitchen and took the water pitcher and bowl to the wooden table in the shade after hearing Jiang Qingzhou and Chen Yuan talking.

Song Li poured a bowl of water and placed it in front of Chen Yuan. After thanking Song Li, Chen Yuan quickly picked it up, as if he wanted to drink up the water in one gulp.

Jiang Qingzhou, who was standing by, saw that Chen Yuan was really thirsty, so without waiting for Chen Yuan to put down the bowl, he poured more water into it.

Chen Yuan looked at Jiang Qingzhou gratefully. This time he drank less hastily and took small sips instead. After two bowls of water, the fire in Chen Yuan's throat was finally extinguished.

After drinking the water, Chen Yuan saw that Jiang Qingzhou wanted to pour more water, so he quickly refused with a smile: "Brother Jiang, I don't want to drink anymore."

"Detective Chen, you look tired and exhausted. Have you been out of town?" Jiang Qingzhou put down the water pitcher and expressed his doubts.

Chen Yuan smiled and replied, "Yes, I went back to my hometown and told my family that I wanted to get married. After everything was settled, I came back."

"Isn't Constable Chen a local?" Song Li was as surprised as Ruyi was at the beginning. Chen Yuan's accent was no different from that of the locals, and most of the petty officials in towns and villages were local bosses. She really couldn't imagine that Chen Yuan, a constable, would be an outsider.

Chen Yuan nodded, and he told Song Li with a smile: "I am from Yingzhou. Two years ago, I had a conflict with my family, and my father kicked me out. My brother-in-law saw that I had nowhere to go, so he helped me find a job here."

Seeing that Chen Yuan was speaking so calmly, as if he was talking about someone else's affairs, Song Li quickly changed the subject and asked, "What is the matter with Constable Chen's visit this time?"

"Brother Jiang, Madam Jiang, I came here to ask for your help. I want to propose to Ruyi, but I don't know how to do it. My sister and brother-in-law left Linhe County last year, and it will be too late for them to come over." After Chen Yuan finished speaking, he looked at Jiang Qingzhou a little embarrassedly.

"Constable Chen, you rent a place in Heihe Town. If you want to get married, do you have to go to Yingzhou? Yingzhou is too far away, and my aunt may not agree." Jiang Qingzhou knew Jiang Shi. Although Chen Yuan was a constable in Heihe Town, he had no house or land of his own, so Jiang Shi might not agree.

What farmers care most about when marrying off their daughters is whether the man’s family has land. After all, in their eyes, those few acres of land are the guarantee of life.

Chen Yuan understood what Jiang Qingzhou meant. He took out a red deed from his purse and handed it to Jiang Qingzhou.

After Jiang Qingzhou took it, Song Li also took a closer look and found that it was a house deed that had been registered with the government.

"This is the yard my sister bought for me in Heihe Town. It's being repaired and cleaned now. Once it's ready, we can move in." Chen Yuan explained to the two people who were looking at the house deed.

After hearing this, Song Li couldn't help but sigh: "Chen's sister is so nice."

"I contributed to my sister's marriage to my brother-in-law. My sister said this was her thank you gift to me. I will not go back to Yingzhou, and I will probably live here forever. When I have extra money in the future, I will buy some land. Even if I don't farm it myself, it will make Ruyi's family feel at ease." Chen Yuan's words were like a reassurance to Jiang Qingzhou. He promised Chen Yuan that he would go to Zhanggou Village with Song Li tomorrow to tell Jiang about this matter.

Chen Yuan's words made Song Li doubt Chen Yuan's sister's family background. It was impossible for an ordinary family to help their brother buy a house in the town and get a job as a constable.

"Constable Chen's handwriting is pretty good." Song Li smiled and returned the title deed to Chen Yuan. She tried to find out some useful information.

"This is all thanks to my sister. We brothers grew up under her discipline. If we didn't write well, we would be spanked. If we couldn't recite the book, we would be punished to squat. We had to study and practice martial arts every day. She relied on my father's love to do whatever she wanted to us." Chen Yuan recalled his life in the Chen family. Although he lived under the strict discipline of his sister Chen Shu every day, he felt very happy. Since Chen Shu got married four years ago, he realized that Chen Shu had protected him a lot. According to the meaning of the family, they originally wanted to raise him as a waste, but it was Chen Shu who pulled him out of the abyss.

Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou looked at each other and said nothing more. They both guessed that Chen Yuan must be a child who was kicked out of a wealthy family.

After Chen Yuan finished his recollection, he told Jiang Qingzhou: "Brother Jiang, I will come again the day after tomorrow. Sorry to bother you, Brother Jiang."

"You're too polite, Constable Chen. You've helped us a lot. Xiaoli and I both hope that Ruyi can marry a good husband. By the way, Constable Chen, you'd better push your cart away. I'm afraid we might break it!" Jiang Qingzhou said, and looked at the cart in the shade at the foot of the wall.

Chen Yuan quickly smiled and said that he would take the cart away with him when he left.

The three of them sat together and chatted for a while. Chen Yuan told Jiang Qingzhou that Mr. Liu in the town had someone set a trap for Boss Zhao. Boss Zhao became addicted to gambling and not only lost Zhao Xuan's shop and yard, but also almost sold out all the land in his family.

Song Li couldn't help but sigh in her heart. From ancient times to the present, once you get involved in gambling, your family will be destroyed and your wife and children will be separated. Boss Zhao also brought this upon himself and he didn't deserve sympathy.

When the sun set and the evening breeze began to blow, Chen Yuan pushed the cart and left the Jiang family.

Because he was thinking about his promise to Chen Yuan, Jiang Qingzhou could no longer fall asleep after the rooster crowed twice. He picked up the fan beside him and fanned Song Li who was still sleeping to drive away mosquitoes.

When Song Li woke up, Jiang Qingzhou had already prepared breakfast. The weather was too hot, so they both ate a little and had no appetite anymore.

After feeding the chickens, pigs and rabbits at home, Song Li accidentally saw a watermelon on the vine with a crack. She hurried over and saw a few ants trying to crawl into the crack. She reached out and killed the ants and picked the watermelon.

Song Li put the watermelon on the wooden table in the kitchen, then closed the doors and windows and went out. She walked to the melon vine, squatted down, and reached out to knock the watermelon on the vine.

"Are there any cooked ones?" Jiang Qingzhou asked with a smile.

Song Li pointed at the two larger watermelons and said, "They are ripe. Knock on them again."

Jiang Qingzhou tapped the watermelon with his fingers, making a crisp "dong dong" sound.

"They are indeed ripe. Take these two to my aunt. When the rest are ripe, send a few to my mother as well." After Jiang Qingzhou said this, he reached out and picked the two watermelons.

Song Li brought the backpack from the main room, and Jiang Qingzhou carefully put the watermelon in it.

The weather was not too hot, and while there were still people walking on the road, Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou hurried towards Zhanggou Village.

When they arrived at Zhang's house, Jiang happily welcomed Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou into the yard.

Ruyi, who was sitting under the shade of a tree embroidering a handkerchief, saw Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou. She quickly put down the needle and thread in her hand, and went to pour them some water with a smile.

Xia Lin, who was playing with Zhang You in the room, heard some noise in the yard, so he leaned on the window and looked into the yard. Seeing that it was Song Li and Jiang Qingzhou, he came out of the house holding Zhang You.

Jiang Qingzhou took the watermelon out of the basket. Jiang accepted it with a smile and took it to the kitchen to cut one.

"Aunt, aren't uncle and brother Jixiang at home?" Song Li saw that only Zhang Ping'an came out from the backyard.

After Jiang divided the watermelons, she replied, "Your uncle and your brother have gone to work in the county town. Xiaoyou is old enough and can't stay at home all the time."

After hearing what Jiang said, Xia Lin paused for a moment and then continued to feed Zhang You watermelon.

Song Li picked up a piece of watermelon and asked Zhang with a smile, "Auntie, how is Sister Ruyi's marriage going? Is there a suitable family?"

"There are two or three suitable ones. I'm looking at them now. They are all nearby and their families have land. I don't know which one is right?" Jiang was very satisfied when she thought about the family conditions of the families mentioned by the matchmaker.

Song Li looked at Ruyi who looked a little unhappy, and continued Jiang's words, "Congratulations to Auntie and Sister Ruyi. I have someone who is more suitable, so I'll tell Auntie about it and we can choose together."

When Ruyi heard Song Li's words, she felt her heart suddenly hang in her throat.